'l B RARY OF THL UN IVERSITY Of ILLINOIS 590-5 FI v.SL Cop. 9 HISTORY SURVEY NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY I) r- * FIELDIANA • ZOOLOGY Published by CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Volume 31 MARCH 13, 1947 No. 11 A NEW RACE OF KOKLAS PHEASANT ROBERT L. FLEMING Stuart Baker lists four subspecies of the genus Pucrasia from the Himalayan region in India, ranging from Chitral in the extreme northwest into Nepal to the east (Fauna of British India: Birds, 5, p. 309, 1928). These are Pucrasia macrolopha castanea in Chitral, P. m. biddulphi in northern Kashmir, P. m. macrolopha throughout the area from northern Kashmir to Nepal, and P. m. nipalensis in Nepal. After examining specimens of Pucrasia from several Ameri- can museums, I found that birds collected in the upper Kulu Valley differ from both P. m. macrolopha and P. m. biddulphi. I have been given the opportunity to describe these specimens as a new sub- species through the kindness of Mr. Boardman Conover, Research Associate in Ornithology at Chicago Natural History Museum, to whom I give my thanks. The problems involved have been dis- cussed with him. It should be pointed out that material available for study for some forms was inadequate. For P. m. nipalensis there was only a single male, supposedly from Jumla, obtained from natives. Unfortunately, this specimen lacks a full tail. Two speci- mens, male and female, represented P. m. biddulphi. The female was marked "Bugunu(?) Kashmir"; the male was only marked "Kashmir," and lacked the supposedly characteristic brown color on the hind neck. I have not been able to find a locality "Bugunu," or one with any similar name. For the loan of specimens I am obliged to Dr. Ernst Mayr, of the American Museum of Natural History, Mr. J. L. Peters, of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and Dr. Josselyn Van Tyne, of the University of Michigan. Pucrasia macrolopha bethelae subsp. nov. Type from Manali, Kulu Valley, Kangra District, Punjab, India. Altitude 6,000 feet. No. 16218 Chicago Natural History Museum (Conover Collection). Collected January 20, 1944, by Robert L. Fleming. Original No. 427. ^ L|BRARY OF THE NO. 591 93 APR 2 2 1947 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS History Sur Library 94 FIELDIANA: ZOOLOGY, VOLUME 31 Characters. — Male duller above than typical macrolopha, with grayer breast, sides, and flanks, and with many of the chestnut feathers from foreneck to vent replaced by chocolate and blackish brown. Differs from biddulphi in being darker above and lacking the chestnut on the hind neck. Lacks the chestnut mantle of castanea and is a much lighter bird than nipalensis. Female distinctly darker than macrolopha, with grayer and darker neck and breast, the pinkish brown much less conspicuous; upper surface darker, tail and wings duller. Duller than biddulphi and grayer below. Description of type (male). — Crown chestnut-fawn; lateral tufts black, edged with green gloss; head black, glossed with green; large oval white patches on side of neck; gray feathers on upper back with a narrow lanceolate black streak down center; shafts on lower back white narrowly edged with black and broadly bordered with gray; shaft streaks on rump indistinct, feathers olivaceous gray; mid-rump feathers black, edged by mottled gray, with narrow fawn- colored shafts; upper tail-coverts more chestnut, grayish at tip with fine black longitudinal lines in center of feathers; central tail-feathers deep rufous, gray-tipped with a narrowing black central shaft; inner wing-coverts with narrow, light buff shafts, usually blackish on inner side and gray on outer side; outer wing-coverts gray, shaft streaks dark brown; innermost secondaries light brown mottled with dark brown, a black spot on some of the outside edges; foreneck to crissum a restricted line of dark feathers mostly deep brown or dark chestnut and brown edged with gray; sides of neck, breast and lower flanks dull gray, shaft streaks dark brown; under tail-coverts black at base changing to chocolate and tipped with white; thighs olive buff. Iris brownish-black; bill horny-brown. Description of female. — Crown chestnut-brown and black, black spots edging the feathers of the short crest; superciliary stripe indis- tinct, marked with chestnut brown; upper parts dark brown, feathers with narrow pinkish brown shafts bordered with black, edged with gray; the upper back less rich in color with more vermiculations; longest tail-coverts light and dark brown; central tail-feathers brown with irregular bars of black and light brown; outermost feathers brown with white tips and indefinite black subterminal bands with black mottling more conspicuous on outer webs; intermediate feathers brown, 'mottled with light brown and black with several irregular bars; chin and throat creamy-buff with distinct line of brown-tipped feathers from the gonys; foreneck and hind neck buff, spotted and edged with black; breast feathers with narrow shaft FLEMING: KOKLAS PHEASANT 95 *> ^streaks of pinkish brown, bordered with black and edged with gray; flanks with narrow brownish-gray shaft streaks bordered by darker brown, edged with buff or gray; vent and center of abdomen whitish with a few bars of brown; under tail-coverts maroon and black tipped with white spots. MEASUREMENTS No. 16218 Sex Male Wing 237 Tail 225 Tarsus 70 Culmen 29 16220 Female 219 164 61 27 16221 Female 220 165 64 25 16219 Female 219 164 63 27 Discussion. — P. m. castanea, of which I had no specimen, is distinguished by chestnut on the mantle. P. m. biddulphi has chestnut feathers extending around the hind neck. In the specimen at my disposal, marked "Kashmir," chestnut feathers on the hind neck were not apparent. In six male intergrades from the southern Kulu Valley, the central streak of chestnut feathers is about one-half the width of the breast, while in bethelae the streak is narrower and more chocolate; the crest and neck feathers of the intergrades are lighter than in bethelae. Female intergrades are grayer on abdomen, and the crest and neck feathers are lighter than in bethelae, more like macrolopha. The outstanding racial characters in the specimens examined appear to be as follows: MALES Dark strip down center Mantle of breast P. m. nipalensis Black Chestnut and black, covering most of breast. P. m. macrolopha Broad black shaft streaks Chestnut, covering two-thirds of breast. P. m.-b. intergrades. .Narrow black shaft streaks Chestnut, covering about half of breast. P. m. bethelae Narrow black shaft streaks Chocolate and black, covering less than half of breast. P. m. biddulphi(1) .... Very narrow black shaft streaks Chocolate and black, covering about half of breast. 96 FIELDIANA: ZOOLOGY, VOLUME 31 FEMALES Upper breast P. m. nipalensis P. m. macrolopha Light wood brown P. m.-6. intergrade. . .Dark wood brown Gular streak at sides of throat i > Almost lacking. Present; composed of brown- tipped feathers. P. m. bethelae Darker and grayer Present; composed of brown- tipped feathers. P. m. biddulphi Lighter and grayer Present; composed of brown- tipped feathers. Distributional relationships between the subspecies of the Koklas pheasant in India are by no means clear. The known range for P. m. bethelae is limited to the upper Kulu Valley above Sultanpur northward to the Rohtang Pass from the usual elevation of about 6,500 feet to 11,000 feet. The increasing height to the north prob- ably forms a natural boundary for P. m. bethelae. EXTREMES OF MEASUREMENTS OF THE SUBSPECIES OF Pucrasia macrolopha Wing Tail Tarsus P. m. macrolopha . . [Male 215-244 216-277 65-67 ( Female 180-218 172-195 55 [Male 208-228 66-68 P. m. nipalensis ( Female P. m. biddulphi [Male 233-249 222 73 [ Female 218 176 64 Mai.- about 240 about 178 about 43 P. m. caslanea1 . . . . J ( Female P. m. bethelae f Male 237 225 70 ( Female 219-220 164-165 61-64 Culmen 24-29 28 23-27 29 26 about 25 29 25-27 Specimens examined. — P. m. nipalensis, 1 (Nepal, Jumla?); P. m. macrolopha, 7 (Mussoorie, 4; Garhwal, 3); P. m. biddulphi, 2 (Kashmir); P. m. bethelae, 4 (Manali); P. m. macrolopha > P. m. bethelae, 7 (Kulu, Kangra District). 1928. 1 Measurements from Stuart Baker, Fauna of British India: Birds, 5, p. 313,